Bharat Rang Mahotsav from January 4

The Bharat Rang Mahotsav, National School of Drama’s annual theatre festival, is back with its 16th edition and will showcase 71 plays from 17 States and six international countries.

The festival will kick off from January 4 with a performance by the NSD Repertory Company. The play, titled Chhaya Shakuntalam, is directed by K.N. Panikkar and is a take on Kalidas’ classical text Abhigyan Shakuntalam.

This year, theatre groups from 17 States representing the north, south, east and west, and six foreign countries — Japan, Israel, China, Germany, Sri Lanka and Poland — will showcase their performances on the international platform.

From the international arena, Sindu Kirilli (Sri Lanka), The Woman Who Didn’t Want To Come Down To Earth (Israel), The Diary Of Anne Frank (China), Awkward Happiness (Poland) and Mephisto Waltz (Germany) will be showcased.

The highlight of the festival is the addition of 11 performances from folk and traditional theatre, making the event a platform for education and interaction. “I am new to the festival since I took on the position a few months back. It was difficult since we didn’t have much time but we have tried our best to bring in the best talent. This year we are aiming at reviving the identity of Indian theatre. We want quality over big names,” said Ratan Thiyam, Chairperson, NSD.

As part of the festival, two seminars will be held this year on “Global Exchanges, Local Encounters” and “Use and Abuse of Tradition in Today’s Theatre.”